Meet Your Local “Left-Wing Domestic Terrorist”

Imagine opening the Nextdoor app and seeing your photo under the headline: “Meet Your Local Left-Wing Domestic Terrorist.” That’s what a fake troll account did. Not because I incited violence. Not because I broke laws. But because I dared to speak openly. I posted a comment that reflected the frustration many Americans feel watching hate masquerade as patriotism, and suddenly I became the villain in their story. It’s as if using the word “Karma” was the same as if I was the one who did it in Utah.
 
Let me be clear: I do not condone violence. For 8 years, I served in the U.S. Navy to protect this nation and my neighbors, not to see it torn apart by hate and extremism. But when extremists in Rowan County found my Facebook post and twisted it into a rallying cry, they didn’t just attack my free speech. They attacked my character, my livelihood, and my First Amendment right to speak freely. They called me a traitor. A hater. A threat. They shared my post in private groups, smeared me on social media platforms, and even called my workplace demanding that I be fired. The irony? I am self-employed. They were literally demanding that I fire myself.
 
This is the playbook of intimidation. And it is not new. Four years ago, when I ran for Congress against one of the architects of gerrymandered extremism, I saw firsthand how far some will go to hold onto power. I didn’t lose because my ideas to help my community. I lost because NC Republicans rigged the congressional district so they win no matter what, and this silenced voices in our communities. Voices that believe diversity is our strength, not our weakness. Voices that believe every child deserves a free school lunch and a quality public education. Voices that believe our homeless and veterans deserve dignity, not neglect and jail time. Voices that believe working families deserve a livable wage, affordable health care, and a fair shot at the American Dream.
 
I believe in science, vaccines, and facts that don’t change with ideology. I believe in fair elections where every citizen has the right to vote, free from intimidation or suppression. I believe our military should defend our nation, not deployed against our own people spreading fear and anxiety. I believe in the separation of church and state, because freedom of religion also means freedom from government-imposed religion.  No one person, organization has the right to impose their faith on others.
 
And I believe in neighbors helping neighbors, not profiling their skin color, or accent, arresting them, or deporting them to a country they are not from and have never known. I believe in a pathway to citizenship for immigrant children who know no other home than the United States. I believe in community, not conspiracy.
 
So when they smear me as a threat, I ask: what exactly are they afraid of? Are they afraid of a Navy veteran who believes in feeding hungry kids? Are they afraid of a neighbor who believes every voice should matter at the ballot box? Are they afraid of someone who insists that our country is strongest when it lifts everyone up?
 
If that makes me a “domestic terrorist” in their eyes, then their definition is warped, twisted, and broken. What they fear is not me. It is accountability and transparency. What they fear is not my words. It truth. It is empathy. What they fear is someone who refuses to back down when bullied. What they fear is unity, because division keeps authoritarians in power.
 
The most un-American thing any of us can do is: attack our citizens, our neighbors, our community.  That doesn't lift everyone up.  That puts a boot on the necks of those who you do not agree with.  What happened to agree to disagree?
 
Yet I remain hopeful. Hopeful that leadership will see the need to tone down the rhetoric and stop lying instead of doubling down. Not targeting late night shows.  Hopeful that our nation can remember that strength is found in compassion, not cruelty and fear. Until our leaders step up and accept all Americans for who they are, who they love, and how they live their lives, we will remain divided, long after I have left this world.
 
Scott Huffman is small business owner in Information Technology. - He can be reached at [email protected]

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